Jesse Nankin McMahon – To educate and inform is to empower

Children’s media services I can provide:

  • Produce content briefs and educational/curriculum scaffolding
  • Script/manuscript review and editing: E.g., consulting on whether content is factually accurate, engaging, memorable and motivating, and follows a logical progression
  • Align content with standards and curriculum frameworks
  • Support for producing show bibles (writing, editing, advising)
  • Serve as a bridge between experts and writers, by synthesizing their feedback and guiding necessary edits to dialogue
  • Oversee curricular components for games, apps and other digital components for a series
  • Contact me to learn more!

Experience:

My role as content producer starts with synthesizing often complex concepts into material that achieves two primary goals. It can be seamlessly worked into a story that sparks wonder, and can be understood by young viewers. I also ensure educational and series goals are met; develop the curricular scaffolding; produce thoroughly-researched content briefs for each episode; and support the development of games, apps and other digital components.

Working closely with producers, writers and animators, I deliver feedback on every step of the production process from story pitch to sound mix with an eye for content that captivates and educates, while avoiding being overly didactic. I have also helped to develop series from inception, including Mystery League which started as an Arkansas PBS series and was ultimately picked up for national distribution by PBS KIDS.

I have worked on several award-winning children’s television series, including the PBS KIDS series Nature Cat, Carl the Collector and Mystery League. My experience is primarily with Pre-K through second grade curriculum in the following disciplines: science (especially environmental), civics/social studies, social-emotional learning and math.

In addition to my television experience, I worked as an associate editor for (then) Houghton Mifflin Co. in their educational division. I prepared outlines for writers, edited manuscript, and researched and wrote lessons on U.S. history for fourth and fifth grade social studies textbooks.